Oneida

The Oneida (Onyota’a:ka “People of the Standing Stone”) are an Indigenous nation in Canada. The Oneida are one the five original nations of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. Historically,
the Oneida occupied a village near Oneida Lake in New York state. They also occupy territory in southwestern Ontario. Oneida people live both on and off reserves.
As of 2020, the Government of Canada reported 8,464 registered members of Oneida communities. (See alsoFirst Nations and Indigenous Peoples in Canada.)

Flag of the Oneida Nation of the Thames (London, Ontario)

Traditional Territory

The five nations of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy — also known as the Iroquois League or League of the Five Nations — occupied an area from the Genesee River on the west, through
the Finger Lakes regions, to the Hudson River on the east in what is known as the Eastern Woodlands cultural area.

The Oneida, a member nation of the confederacy, historically occupied a village near Oneida Lake in New York state. Presently, Oneida communities can also be found near Brantford and London, Ontario. (See alsoIndigenous Territory.)

History

It is possible that Champlain unsuccessfully attacked an Oneida village in 1615. Years later, in 1696, the French burned an Oneida town.

Unlike most of their fellow confederacy members, the Oneida supported the rebel cause in the American Revolution, owing to the influence of the New England missionary Samuel Kirkland. After the war, however, the Americans pressured the Oneida to sell their New York lands.

A sizable portion of the Oneida community moved to Wisconsin, and another group of 242 individuals purchased a tract of land and settled near London, Ontario,
in 1839.